WHITE CLOUD, MI -- In rural Newaygo County just south/west of White Cloud lies a distinguished bed and breakfast. It's been in operation since the 1970s and is set deep in the quiet countryside of a small town called Jugville on Robinson Lake.
Made completely inside and outside of rustic wood and timbers, its motif is very inviting and the management is just as folksy and neighborly as the person next door. The Shack boasts "it's the best place in the world to do nothing." The fact is, you'll find plenty to do if you're a registered guest. Long walks in the countryside along their nature paths, and a museum stocked with items and historic attributes from the 1880s and early 1900s.
The museum, made by owner Marv Deur and his some Butch, holds five different types of Lincolns from 1979 literally purchased, parked, and on display. Some of the first snowmobiles ever made by Arctic Cat from the 1960s can be found here, as can Model T cars made by Henry Ford. Tucked in the back hills between White Cloud and Fremont, there's plenty stored and stocked in this small-town museum. Some of the first stationary gasoline engines that were used for things like chopping corn stalks also on display.
It's important to note that the museum even has a gasoline powered ice cream maker still used by The Shack in the summertime for warmer weather events. In fact, each and every registered guest that stays at The Shack ends their evening with a homemade banana split. Owner Marv Deur says "it settles the tummy for a good night's sleep." They've been including banana splits each night for guests for the better part of 35 years.
Perhaps one of the rarest items is a 1929 Depot Hack International pick up truck. It was completely restored down to the frame and there were less than 300 made. There are only four known left in existence. You'll also find some early John Deere tractors, and everything that grandma and grandpa would have had in their home in the early 1900s. What makes it so unique is that it literally seems to be undiscovered! It may be one thing to have a bed and breakfast in the middle of nowhere, but to have this caliber of museum attached to it with all of these treasures makes it that much more appealing.
If you need a getaway to the country and are seeking an atmosphere in a down home folksy, friendly, relaxed environment, then The Shack may be just your thing. One word of advice? Leave the cell phone and computer at home...you'll be hard-pressed to get internet and cell service that far out in the country.
Click here to get to The Shack website. Click here for a map of their location.
